‘Elephant Feet’…An Idea to Reduce Falls

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I learnt something new the other day from an Occupational Therapist at Alzheimers Australia recently. Firstly I discovered what an OT does and secondly I found out about ‘elephant feet’.

They are special height raising supports for chairs and beds. There are several brands available and often come in two heights eg 90mm and 150mm approx. they can carry a load of 200-250kg. They are not suitable for chairs or beds with castors and recliner chairs.

I am looking into these for Bob as he has had at least 10 falls in the last month and they are happening whenever he tries to sit in a chair or on his bed.

My point is that falls can be avoided by adjusting the environment to the person at a particular point in their decline. The problem with Bob now is ‘spatial awareness’ and the result of a bad fall is potentially another trip to hospital which is worse case scenario for our family.

We need to advise care staff to be alert whenever Bob goes to sit down and support him where possible. These are the moments you need to report the changes and take proactive steps to reduce fall risk.

Dad has had several incidents where he has accidentally hurt other residents by misjudging chairs and sitting on another smaller resident. This is dementia….